"Finding My Boyfriend in Bed With a Stranger, 1993" by Mickie Kennedy
Finding My Boyfriend in Bed With a Stranger, 1993
A safety pin through the guy’s ear
catching light. His hair dyed black,
frenetically pumping his barely-there rear.
Beneath him, you looked
beautiful. Lacquered in sweat. Eyes closed.
Feet hooked around his bony neck, so lost
you didn’t see me by the window.
Everything you did was gorgeous,
even betrayal. Your lips quivering,
as if you were reciting a private rosary.
Even then, I knew I was trying
to remember you like that—your
face slack, no guilt, no fear. So quickly
we’d be checking our mouths for sores.
Originally published in Shō Poetry Journal, and appeared in Glandscapes.
Mickie Kennedy is a gay writer who resides in Baltimore County, Maryland. His work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, POETRY, The Threepenny Review, The Southern Review, The Sun, and elsewhere. His first full-length book of poetry, Worth Burning, was published by Black Lawrence Press in February 2026. Follow him on social media @MickiePoet or his website
